If you’ve been to a Cirque du Soleil show, you know there’s no other live experience that comes close to the imaginative blend of music and acrobatics you see on a Cirque stage. Watching these vibrant performances is a thrill for audiences, so you can only imagine what it’s like for Recording Arts graduate Shannon Brady, who is helping to produce that magic for thousands of people every week as a Front of House Engineer at Cirque du Soleil’s Las Vegas show, Mystere.

“There are two shows a night, so I’m kind of in charge of 5000 smiles,” he says. “It’s a pretty cool feeling knowing you gave someone two hours of a good time, and they leave feeling something special. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone walk out of the show in a bad mood – including the crew and performers – and it’s cool to be a part of that.”

Mystere’s theater is located at the Treasure Island resort in the heart of the Vegas strip, and Shannon’s position puts him in charge of maintaining the venue’s audio systems, as well as handling the mix during a show. This includes checking that each speaker is working properly, triggering the MIDI effects, and balancing the levels for an 18-piece orchestra. With ten performances per week, it’s an enormous undertaking for the crew, and Shannon explained the work that goes into pulling of a seamless blend of audio, lighting, and stunt choreography.

“It’s really tough making it happen perfectly ten times a week,” he says. “This Cirque show in particular is extremely audio-heavy, so the mix is very challenging because every department is so dependent on audio. We have a live band, and the performers and acrobats go off the band, so if I miss a cue, an acrobat can’t make their jump. They’re up there doing some pretty crazy stuff, and relying on me to time it right. It’s a trust and consistency thing, and I never want to let them down.”

To put his job into perspective, Shannon is responsible for about 200 audio cues during a show. That means he has to pay careful attention to each actor as they perform their routine, and manually time the sound effects to match the tempo of their performance. Thankfully he has support from the Treasure Island theater’s powerful audio setup – one of the few venues that uses Meyer Sound’s LCS Series console, which is something that originally inspired him to pursue a position at the show.

“The main reason I got into Cirque was because of the technology, and what we’re doing here is beyond anything in normal audio,” he says. “These shows are just amazing, and it would take me a good couple hours to explain everything that’s going on in this room. It’s not just a regular rock show, it’s extremely technically involved, especially with the audio, and I love that. I’m always trying to get further with my knowledge of sound and the different gear.”

Mystere debuted more than 16 years ago as the first permanent Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas, and has since inspired six other shows on the strip – including O, Zumanity, and the Beatles-inspired Love. The show recently renewed its contract for another 7 years, and Shannon is thrilled to be a part of the Cirque tradition as he helps create this innovative experience for new audiences.

“Since the day I graduated the only thing I’ve focused on is trying to do the best I can at the highest level,” he says. “Everyone has a vision of what they want to do in this business, and mine was always to work at the highest professional level I could – and Cirque is it for me. It was always a goal of mine to be here because of the technology involved with their shows, and I’m so proud to say that I work for them because I wanted to for so long.”